Overview

Wednesday, 22 April 2009 00:00

Mexican families wait for free medical services outside of the
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on April 2, 2009.

Photo taken by Alex Garday

The first Tuesday of every month, excluding July, hundreds of Mexican families travel across the United States – Mexico border to Nogales, Ariz. for one morning of free medical treatment that otherwise would be unavailable to them.

The entire complex of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church transforms into a multi-dimensional miniature hospital called St. Andrew's Children's Clinic, to provide impoverished Mexican children with a wide range of medical aid including; speech pathology, orthotics, hearing and vision testing, physical therapy, a full pharmacy and nutritional advice.

The clinic is a non-profit organization that functions through the support of doctors, staff and more than 200 volunteers. Approximately 200 – 300 Mexican children arrive at the clinic each month in hopes of receiving medical attention not available to them in Mexico.

In 1973, four women led by Coca Romero crossed the Mexican border into Nogales, Sonora and after witnessing the destitute and ill children living there, they rented a small shack to begin providing basic first aid medical care.

A few years later, the clinic moved to the U.S. with the help of Tucson doctors. The dedicated women have continued to help families for the last 36 years.

Now housed in the hallowed halls of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Ted Estrada, the current executive director of St. Andrew's Children's Clinic, believes their purpose is benevolence.

“We're all blessed and I think there comes a time where you have to help someone else,” Estrada said.

Barbara Blake, president emeritus, agrees that there is something sacred about the work being done at the clinic.

“There is a special element of being and working around an altar,” Blake said. “There is spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental healing here.”

While most patients can be helped directly at the clinic, there are some children with serious conditions that cannot be helped with the limited equipment in Nogales.

The clinic has relationships with the Shriner's Institutes in Sacramento, Calif. and Spokane, Wash., which are able to provide more extensive care.

The fountain filled with donated shoes that are free for the
families to take home.

Photo taken by Alex Garday

The non-profit takes in more than $1.5 million in donations each year but with increasing prescription bills and a plan to expand the clinic with a 3,000 – 4,000 square feet addition, Blake is looking for additional support.

“We need a grant from someone so that we can continue our mission because when we care for children it is a responsibility until they are 18 years old,” Blake said.

In fact, some children have been coming to the clinic every month for the last 10 years.

Estrada said the clinic never needs to advertise and Blake added that the only major form of advertisement is word of mouth.

“People in Mexico talk about a miracle clinic in Nogales,” Blake said. “They tell each other to, ‘just get your child there and they'll be okay.'”

Mexican families wait outside of the entry into the St.
Andrew's Children's Clinic in Nogales, Ariz. on April 2, 2009.

Photo taken by Alex Garday

Through a special humanitarian agreement with the Border Patrol, the children and parents obtain humanitarian visas that last for 24 hours to cross the border. They are then transported from Mexico into Nogales, Ariz. and back to the border by buses that run all day and are driven by volunteers.

"The cooperative work really depends upon volunteers from both sides of the border,” said the Rev. Lucie Thomas, rector for St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. “It's a complete cross-border effort and with the tighter and tighter border, it's really a miracle so many people get help.”

Blake knows why she and so many others continue to work every year to make St. Andrew's Children Clinic a reality.

“When you see the healing and the joy on these children's faces you realize that every one of them is a miracle," she said. "You are touched by the hope found in their eyes.”

Written by Alex Garday